METALLICA’s HAMMETT: Other Than Our Fans, No One Else Was Interested In ‘Through The Never’ Movie

METALLICA‘s 2013 IMAX 3D concert film, “Metallica Through The Never”, arrived on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, video on demand and digital on Tuesday (January 28) through the band’s own Blackened Recordings label. The $18 million film, which combined concert footage with a fictional narrative, made less than $4 million in its initial U.S. box office run last fall.

Guitarist Kirk Hammett admitted he was disappointed that it didn’t do better. “You know, I really, really felt that we had put our all into this movie,” he told The Pulse Of Radio. “I mean, we spent a lot of time making it, we spent a lot of time editing it in post-production and making sure that it was exactly what we wanted it to be. We spent a lot of time making sure it sounded up to par with, you know, all our other stuff. And, you know, it’s just amazing because other than our fans, no one else was interested in the movie. [laughs].”

Although METALLICA expects to start working on its 10th studio album soon, drummer Lars Ulrich has all but ruled out any chance of the disc arriving in 2014. At the Grammy Awards last Sunday (January 25), Ulrich was first asked whether METALLICA plans to make another movie. He replied, “One at a time. The next thing we have to give birth to is another record, so that’s the focus for ’14 and ’15.” Asked when fans might get to hear the new disc, Ulrich added, “I would say definitely not before ’15.”

METALLICA‘s last all-new album, “Death Magnetic”, came out in September 2008.

Ulrich said that making the “Through The Never” movie re-energized METALLICA‘s creativity, explaining, “[Working on the film] gave us a chance to experience a whole other way of being creative and having a creative outlet. We were very inspired by making that [movie], and now we’re energized to make a record. The film was fun, but it’s all about the next record.”

METALLICA will hit the European festival circuit this summer, with the band’s set lists comprised of requests made online by fans attending each date. One slot at each night’s show will be reserved for a new tune.